A New Zealand farming lobbying group has proposed that sheep shearing should be included at the Olympics as a demonstration sport.

King of the clippers: Sheep shearing is big in Australia and New Zealand (Photo: Reuters)

New Zealand Federated Farmers claim that the world’s top shearers are ‘athletes who take it another level’.

‘In 2008 Sports Shear Australia mooted the idea, but surely the time has come to elevate shearing’s sporting status to the ultimate world stage’, said spokeswoman Jeanette Maxwell.

Demonstration sports are ones which are allowed to be showcased at the Olympics without medals being awarded, although there increased size of the Olympics means there have not been any new ones since roller hockey made an appearance at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

They are often sports which are particularly popular in the host country, such as baseball (Los Angeles 1984) and taekwondo (Seoul 1988).

Some sports, such as taekwondo and badminton (Munich 1972) have gone on to attain full Olympic status following appearances as demonstration sports.